Why Don’t Muslims Migrate to Neighboring Countries?

For years, discussions about the migration of Muslims to Europe, Canada, Australia, and other non-Muslim countries have focused mainly on the destination countries themselves. While various aspects, from discrimination and Islamophobia to immigration policy, cultural integration, and how migrants are treated, have been discussed—and this is certainly appropriate and deserves more attention!

But one fundamental question is rarely asked: Why don’t Muslims go to Muslim countries before migrating to non-Muslim countries?

For example, why should an Iraqi seeking security and a better future have to travel thousands of kilometers? Why can’t they go to a closer Muslim country such as the United Arab Emirates to live and work legally?

Why shouldn’t an Afghan fleeing war, poverty, or instability have the opportunity to live legally and with dignity in Pakistan, Iran, or other Muslim countries?

The same question applies to hundreds of thousands of people from other Muslim countries.

Sometimes, to understand a crisis, examining its roots is more important than examining its consequences.

Therefore, the problem lies not only in migration itself, but also in the countless barriers created between Muslim countries. Some countries that claim to promote the unity of the Muslim community impose very strict restrictions on residency, visas, work permits, and administrative procedures for Muslims from other countries. This behavior effectively calls their shared faith into question.

Because on the surface, we are Muslims and brothers. But when it comes to where we live, work, and build our lives, national borders become visible again.

Perhaps it would be better to reflect on this. If a Muslim cannot legally and with dignity live in another Muslim country, what alternatives remain?

When legal routes are blocked, illegal routes become more attractive.

Human traffickers take advantage of this situation. Dangerous smuggling routes emerge.

Overcrowded, unseaworthy boats set out to sea. Countless families entrust their money and their lives to smugglers.

And when tragedy strikes, everyone talks about the “migration crisis,” as if it suddenly appeared on the shores of Europe.

But the crisis had begun much earlier.

This crisis began when people could no longer find a legal way to live in a region close to their homeland and culture.

Illegal migration is not always simply because of the attraction of the destination country.

Sometimes it is also the result of a lack of alternatives nearby.

If Muslims could travel to a prosperous Muslim country, work there, and build a future without facing countless residency laws, costs, and restrictions, would they still be willing to risk their lives on smuggling routes to Europe?

Of course, the answer is not the same for everyone. But it is undeniable that some migration to the West is driven by the lack of alternatives in Muslim countries.

Here lies a contradiction: some Muslim countries are economically strong enough to attract millions of foreign workers, yet for many Muslims from crisis-stricken countries, the path to permanent residency—or even to a stable life—is extremely difficult.

In other words, a Muslim country may need workers, but it does not necessarily accept migrants as members of its society. Workers can enter the country.

But staying there, developing a sense of belonging, and building a future are two entirely different things. This distinction is very important. If Muslim countries truly speak of Islamic solidarity, perhaps the time has come to turn this solidarity from a mere slogan into a concrete immigration policy.

Why shouldn’t there be more legal and humane pathways between Muslim countries for people fleeing war, poverty, oppression, or insecurity? Why shouldn’t an Iraqi, Syrian, Afghan, Yemeni, Sudanese, or any other Muslim who sees no future in their homeland have the opportunity to find a safe and legal option in the region before surrendering themselves to a smuggler?

If Muslim countries created such pathways, migration to non-Muslim countries could take a fundamentally different form. This does not mean that Western countries have no responsibility. They too must combat discrimination, Islamophobia, and inhumane treatment of migrants.

But if we consider only the destination country, we miss half the story. We must also consider the origin. We must ask Muslim countries: Why is a person fleeing a Muslim country in search of a safe, legal, and dignified life often forced to cross the Muslim world and find themselves in a place where they may even face discrimination?

This is not an insignificant question.

Perhaps part of the answer to the migration crisis lies not in closing Europe’s borders, but in opening the doors of Muslim countries to one another.

If a Muslim cannot live in another Muslim country, but is forced to flee to a non-Muslim country to save their life and future, perhaps before blaming Europe, we should ask ourselves: What did we fail to offer them in Muslim countries that forced them to seek it elsewhere?

And perhaps this is the bitterest part of the story.

We speak of unity, but we draw borders.

We speak of brotherhood, but we make staying difficult.

We speak of solidarity, but we leave a Muslim from a neighboring country waiting in lines for visas, permits, and legal procedures.

When they then choose a human-smuggling route and put their life at risk, we ask ourselves: Why did they come to Europe in the first place?

Perhaps the right question is: Why didn’t we let them stay close to their homeland?

 Author: Goya Roshan

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